Car-dumper.



J. MGMYLER.

01.11 BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED 16113.31, 1911 1 1,009,331. Patented Nv.21, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. MOMYLBR. GAB BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED IAB.. 31, 1911.

1,009,331 Patented Nov.21, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I 1 K F30 I: d I! if i| I 9:3/ :if: 2,3 UJI/.31 I

'1. MOMYLBR.

GAB. BUMPER.

APPLICATION FILED IAR. 31, 1911.

1,009,331, l Patented 11011.21, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3v J. MOMYLER.

GAB. BUMPER. APPLICATION FILED 111111.31. 1911.

1,009,331 Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

4 sums-SEHEN.

UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN MGMYLER, OF'GLEVELAND, oHIo, AssiGNon To l'r1-m MCMYLER INTERSTATE COMPANY, or BEDFORD, oHIo, A coRPoRA'rIoN or oHIo.

CAR-BUMPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Application led March 31, 1911. Serial No. 618,201.

To all'who'm 'it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JOHN -MCMYLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland` in the countyof Cuyahoga and Sta-te of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Car-Bumpers, of `which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in car dumpers and especially to an attachment or mechanism for preventing discharge of material from a car until after the latter has been tilted or turned to thedesired position, or until the tilting movement is substantially completed.

ln a well known form of car dumper a loaded car is run on to a cradle which is arranged in a suit-able tower and is adapted to be raised to a suitable height and then tilted so as to first elevate and then tilt vthe car and dump the contents thereof into a suitable chute or other receptacle. During the tilting operation, part if not all of the material at the top of the car falls ott the car into the chute before the car has been tilted sufficiently to cause the discharge of its entire contents. When carloads of coal are being handled in t-he car dumper, that portion of the coal which first falls from the car into the chuter during the early tilting movements, is usually good coarse coal, and by falling in the manner above described and in its rapid descent down the chute is very much broken and damaged.

The object of the present invent-ion is to provide an improved and effective means for preventing any loss or discharge of the material from the car until after the car has been tilted to the desired or proper position to at once cause the entire contents of the car to be dumped into the chute.

The above object is accomplished by a device arranged and operated in accordance with my invention and comprising a. curtain which is of sufficient length to extend from end to end of the car and which is normally supported in the tower above the point at which the car is tilted. This curtain is arranged in 'a manner such that when the car is raised to the proper height and tilted the car and curtain swing toward each other so that the curtain will, by the movement of the car, be brought against the open top thereof and will be held in that position so as to prevent the discharge of coal or other material from'the car until the latter has been given substantially vits full tilting movement, after which the curtain is released and allowed to swing outward or outward and upward so that the contents of the car may then be dumped as an entirety into the chute. As the car and cradle return to normal position, the curtain, which is referably counterweighted, swings upwar ly and inwardly to its normal position. Preferably4 the curtain has connected to the top thereof counterweighted cables and also has further connections with suitable stationary parts of the tower, this connection being, in the preferred embodiment of my invent-ion, in the form of sets of pivoted links, a set of these links being arranged at each end of the curtain and serving to restrain, to a certain extent` the movements of the curtain, but nevertheless permitting it to assume various positions so that it may accommodate the movement of the car and adapt itself to cars of various heights.

In the accompanying sheets of' drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a port-ion of a well known form of vcar dumper equipped with my invention, certain parts being broken away and other parts being -shown somewhat conventionally, the curtain being in its normal upper posit-ion. Fig. 2 is a partial front view of the same looking toward the left of Fig. 1, certain portions being broken away and the cradle being raised somewhat from the position shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail view showing particularly the latch or catch mechanism by which the bottom portion of the curtain is attached or temporarily connected to the cradle of the car dumper and showing also the mechanism for preventing the connection between the curtain and cradle being established if, for example, it is desired to dump only a portion of a load instead of the entire load. Fig. 4' is a side elevation, with parts broken away, ofthe upper portion of a chute, the cradle and car carried thereby and the curtain, this view showing the start of the tilting opera-I tion and showing the cradle about to connect on tothe curtain. Fig. 5l is a similar view showing the position of the cradle, car and curtain after the cradle has been turned through nearly an angle of ninety degrees. Fig. 6 'lis [a View ofthe same with the cradle tilte'd 'still further and in the position at which the curtain is about. to be released. Fig. T is a similar view after the curtain has been released and showing the contents be ing dumped from the car.

ln the drawings', I() represents the usual tower or structure. 11 represents the cradle and 12 a car which is clamped to the horizoutal platform of the cradle by suitable clamping means 13. Both the tower and cradle may be of any suitable construction, and as they are common and well known, need not be. described in detail. It. will be understood. however, that the. cradle is elevated b v cables ll"L connected to suit-able hoisting mechanism (not shown) until a` jaw 11b carried by the cradle engages a pin 11c carried by a front cross beam to be referred to later: and after the engagement of the jaw ot the cradle wit-h the pin. the. cradle. together with the car are turned or tilted about the pin as an axis so as to dump the contents of the car. The contents of the car 1:2 is adapted to be dumped into a chute or other suitable receptacle 14 which. as in the custonmry manner. is pivoted at its upper end to a beam 16 which vis supported between the. front vertical columns 10a and 10b (see F ig. 2) of the tower 10. At opposite ends of the beam 16 are the usual aprons 1T which are designed to guide-the material into the open end of the chute. Inthe usual .construction of car dumpers of the type illustrated, the beam 16 is arranged to be adjusted vertically so as to adjust the vertical height to which the cradle is to be elevated and the pointI at which the material is dumped into the chute.

It will be seen that when the cradle has been so tilted that the car is turned through an angle slightly greater than that shownin Fig. 4, the material at the top of the load in the car will fall from the car and will drop some distance before striking or entering the chute. and if coal is being unloaded, this coal will be broken and damaged in the manner previously stated. It will also be seen, that, unless means are provided for preventing the early discharge of the mate-4 rial from the car, the discharge will bev more or less scattered and continuous throughout nearly the entire tilting movement of the car or until the car reaches the position shown in Fig. 6, which is itsfull discharging position. To avoid this occurrence and, in fact, to provide means whereby the discharge is almost entirely prevented until the car reaches the position shown in Fig. 6, my invention, in the way of an attlchment, has been provided and will now be described.

Arranged above the upper open end of the chute and above the point about which the car and cradle are tilted and supported substantially in line with the. front plane of the tower, is a curtain `18 comprising a main front or forward portion 18El which. when the .curtain is in normal lposit-ion, is substantially vertical and is of a length such as to extend from one end of the car to the other` and end pieces 1.8b extending rearwardly from the portion 18l and adapted to its ends the curtain is also connected to' stationary points of the st-ructlne, and preferably to extensions 23 of the aprons. 17 or other suitable parts connected to the cross beam 16. and preferably these connections are in the form of links 24. the curtain being connected at each end and near the top thereof to one of the members 23 by links 24a and 2&1b which are parallel and of equal length, and by shorter links 24 and 24'1 which are parallel and of equal lengths. Each of the connections 24.-, therefore., consists of a parallelogram of pivoted links. While I do not consider the parallelogram of links essential, I find that it. is very suitable a-nd efficient as it permits the desired movements of the curtain forwardly and downwardly with the car or upwardly to its normal position after the curtain has been released from the car, and also permits the curtain to adaptitself to cars of various heights.

Arranged along the bottom of the curtain 18 are a series of pivoted or swinging latches 25, each of which is provided with an open notch or slot 25al and atits lower end with a roller 25h for the purpose to be referred to presently. The cradle and curtain are clesigned to be temporarily connected together at the beginning of the tilting' movement of the cradle so that the curtain may lie over or along the open top of the car, in a manner illust-rated in the drawings, by means of these catches and by a series of pins 26 which may be provided with rollers. In this case the pins 26 are provided at the top or upper end of the car clamping means 13, previously referred to, and are arranged 0pposite or in line with the several catches 25. These catches 25 and the pins 26 are so arranged that after the cradle has been raised to the desired height and shortly after the beginning of the tilting movement of the cradle, the pins drop into. the open notches 25 of the catches and thence as the tilting movement continues the curtain is pulled downward and outward and the car and curtain move toward each other so as to cause the curtain to cover or lie along the open top of the car. .\s the tilting movement continues. the curtain precedes the car and cradle` the parallelogram of linlv's spreading. readily permitting this movement. 'Ihe curtain thus remains firmly attachedto the cradle so as to prevent the discharge of'material from the car and serves as a retainer until the cradle reaches its dumping position` at which point the curtain is released` and this l prefer to be done autoimitically. 'lhis s'accomplished at substantially the end of the tilting,r movement by the engagement of the rollers 25h at the lower ends of the catches with the bottom of the chute or with suitable members 2T provided for this purpose and by the consequent disengagement of the catches with the pins 2(. A As soon as this occurs the contents of the car forces the curtain outwardly and away from the car so that the contents may be dumped as a whole and at once into the chute. As the c-ar and cradle are returned to their normal upright positions the curtain-is restored to its normal position by the counter-weights Q2. In this manner the breakage of coal is very materially lessened.

In some instances it. may not be desirable to dump the entire contents of the car at one time as. for example, 'when it is desired to dump a portion of a carload into one hatch et' a vessel and other portionsin other hatches. In order that this may be done, I have provided means for preventing the curtain being attached to the cradle so as not to be pulled downward with the car` and this means is preferably in the following form or embodiment.

Along the fronty of the curtain and near the bottom thereof is a rock-shaft 28 which is designed to'be turned by means of a line '.29 extending to the operator and passing about a sheave 30 arranged above the rockshaft QS, and having its end connected to an arm 31 which is fixed to the rock-shaft at the center thereof. This rock-shaft has also Secured thereto a series of arms 32 which extend downwardly and are arranged at an angle with respect to the arm 3l, these arms 3'2 being arranged above the various catches Each ofr the catches 25 has pivotallyl supported adjacent thereto and preferably on the same pivotal axis therewith` a lever 33 with its forward end counterweighted and provided at its rear end with a pawl 33t1 which, when the forward end of the lever 1s raised, is adapted to extend over and close the open notchor slot in the corresponding catch 25 in which the pin 26 of the cradle is normally adapted to enter. The levers 33 are arranged directly beneath the arms 32 xed to the rock shaft 28 and are connected to said arms by short connecting means 34. Thus when it is desired to prevent the catching and connection of the cradle with the curtain, the operator, by pulling on the line Q9, rocks the rock-shaft. 2S so as to shift the levers 33 and cause thel pawls 33to prevent the pins 26 on the cradle entering the notches of the catches This mechanism permits the operator at will. to prevent the use or operation of the curtain so that the contents of the car or any desired quantity ot' it may. be dumped in the usual manner.

llavingdescribed my invention, what I' car so as to prevent material being discharged from the car until the been tilted a certain amount.

:2. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a cal-upwardly in the tower and at a certain elevation to tilt the car, a chute arranged to receive the material dumped from the car, a curtain yieldingly supported above the chute and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, and means whereby a connection is made between the curtain and one of the tilting parts so that the curtain will be moved downwardly and outwardly with t-he car along the open top thereof.`

3. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in the tower and at a certain elevation to be tilted so as to dump the contents of the car, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain supported at the front of the tower above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, and latching means arranged to connect t-he lower portion of the curtain with a part on the cradle so that the curtainA will be moved outwardly with the car along the open top thereof so as to prevent- Inaterial dropping from the car during a portion of the tilt-ing movement.

4. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in the tower and at a certain elevation to be tilted latte'r has so as to dump the contents of the car, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain supported at the front of the tower above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, and latching means arranged to connect the lower portion of the curtain with a part on the cradle so that the curtain will be moved outwardly with the car along the open top thereof so as to prevent material dropping from the car during a portion of the tilting movement, and means for causing the release of the curt-aizA when the car has been tilted a certain amount.

5. In a car unloader, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in the tower and at a certain point to be tilted so as to cause the contents of the car to be dumped therefrom, a receptacle.arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain arranged in the forward portion of the tower above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle is tilt-ed, counterweighted cables connected to the top of the curtain tending to pull the same upwardly, and means'arranged to form a temporary connection between the curtain and one of the tilting parts so as to cause the curtain to be moved downwardly and outwardly with the car along the open top thereof, and means for breaking said connection to release the curtain so as to permit the contents of the car to be dumped into the receptacl/r/ 6. In a car unloader, a tower or structure7 a cradle adapted to elevate a car in said structure and at a certain point to be tilted so as to tilt the car and cause the contents thereof to be discharged therefrom, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain normally supported in an upright position above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle -is tilted, counterweighted cables connected to the top of said curtain, means comprising a plurality of links connecting the curtain to said structure, and means for connecting the curtain with one of the tilting parts.

7. In a car unloader, a tower structure, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in said structure and at a certain point to be tilted so as to cause the contents of the car to be dumped therefrom, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain normally arranged inuprightposition at the front of the structure above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, counterweighted'cables connected to the top of the curtain, sets of pivoted links connecting the upper end pertions of the curtain to points of the structure below the curtain, and means for temporarily fastening the lower portion of the curtain-'to the cradle comprising catches pivotally supported on the lower portion of the curtain and depending therefrom, and devices on said cradle arranged to engage said catches when the car is being tilted.

8. In a car unloader, a tower structure, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in said structure and at a certain point to be tilted so as to cause the contents of the car to be dumped therefrom, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of the car, a

curtain normally arranged at the front of the structure above the receptacle and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, means for temporarily fastening the lower portion of the curtain to the cradle comprising catches pivotally supported on the lower portion of the curtain, and devices on said cradle arranged to engage said catches when the car is being tilted, and means for preventing the engagement of said means on the cradle with the catches on the curtain.

9. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to elevate a car in the tower and to be tilted so as to dump the contents of the car therefrom, a chute supported at the front of the tower and arranged to receive the contents of the car, a curtain normally supported at the front portionl of the tower above the chute and above the point at which the cradle is tilted, said curtain comprising a portion adapted to extend the length of the car from one end thereof to another, counterweighted cables connected to the top of the curtain and tending to pull the same upwardly, and means for forming a temporary connection between the curtain and the cradle comprising catches pivotally supported on the lower portion of the curtain, and means on the cradle adapted to engage in said catches whereby when the cradle is tilted the curtain is moved downwardly and outwardly with the car and cradle along the open top of the car, said catches having portions which engage stationary parts of the chute when the car has been tilted to a certain position so as to cause the catches to be rocked to release the curtain and permit the contentsof the car to be dumped into the chute.

10. In combination in a ear dumper. a tower, a cradle adapted to be moved upward -in said tower, and tilted so as to dump the contents of a car, a receptacle arranged to receive the contents of a car, and a curtain yieldingly supported in the tower and movable downwardly and outwardly with the car and cradle along the open top'of the car, so as to prevent material being discharged from the car until the latter has been tilted a certain amount.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto atlix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN MCMYLER.

Witnesses:

H. R. SULLIVAN, A. F. Kwis. 

